GUEST OPINION: A simple agreement on Beacon Hill transparency

On June 6, state Rep. Charles Murphy, D-Burlington, announced his retirement and chastised the leadership of the Legislature. He said that his resignation was “certainly not voluntary.” He criticized the “top-down leadership model where dissent is discouraged, debate is limited, decisions are made by a select few, and formal sessions are rare.”

On June 6, state Rep. Charles Murphy, D-Burlington, announced his retirement and chastised the leadership of the Legislature. He said that his resignation was “certainly not voluntary.” He criticized the “top-down leadership model where dissent is discouraged, debate is limited, decisions are made by a select few, and formal sessions are rare.”

Rep. Murphy is a former Marine from Burlington. He served in the House since 1997. During that time, he was chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, which writes the budget. One of the most important positions in the Legislature.

Rep. Murphy is a casualty to the Massachusetts legislative system. If something drastic doesn’t happen soon to reform the process, he won’t be the last.

The governor and the Legislature are exempt from the state’s open meeting laws. Some of the good government laws that apply to the commonwealth — that are intended to promote transparency — don’t apply in the Statehouse. As a result, the frustrations Rep. Murphy felt are due in part to the way our legislative system operates.

Others have noticed our lack of transparency. A national study on transparency in state government concluded that Massachusetts earned an “F” rating for “Public Access to Information.” The study may be found at www.stateintegrity.org/massachusetts.

Three Speakers of the House in the Legislature have been indicted. State Senator Diane Wilkerson was caught stuffing cash down her bra. Several State Representatives are being questioned by authorities for a potential scandal with the Probation Department. Examples of corruption are not short on stories. Elected officials need to acknowledge that the public deserves better and there’s a sense of urgency to reform the process.

Candidates who are running for legislative office need to go to the Statehouse with the mindset that they want to fundamentally change the process for how the Statehouse operates.

Seismic, radical, partisan driven philosophical ideas to govern are not the remedy. Simple good government policies that apply to the Commonwealth should apply to State House politicians.

Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance sent questionnaires to all the legislative candidates running for Statehouse positions. We asked 20 economic and good government questions. We believe the voters should know where the candidates stand on various economic, fiscal and good government issues. We asked the candidates to sign an agreement. The agreement is simple. It states, “Work to reform the state’s open meeting laws to include the governor and the Legislature which are currently exempt.” “Oppose, vote against, and not participate in any and all efforts to meet behind closed doors in the Statehouse when conducting official business.” You can read our agreement and responses from elected officials on our website at www.MassFiscal.org.

Elected officials should not be surprised. Voters want transparency like they want fireworks on the 4th of July. While the economy and jobs are the main issues, ethics and transparency should remain a high priority.

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To get the state government to change its rules and become more transparent can be a journey of a thousand miles. Asking candidates to make an agreement to apply the state’s open meeting rules for Statehouse activities is a first step. Candidates should seize this moment. They should use this opportunity to champion transparency.

Candidates should be making promises to voters to convert the Statehouse to the C-SPAN House. Elected officials should be looking for ways to be ahead of the curve on transparency. Staples is only a few blocks from the Statehouse. I hear they have a sale on HD digital video cameras, what’s the delay?

Paul D. Craney is the Executive Director of Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization that advocates for right of center economic, fiscal and good government issues. You may reach him at paul@massfiscal.org or Twitter @PaulDiegoCraney.